Psalm 19:9b-10a – “The Rules of the Lord are true and righteous. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold”
Psalm 27:4 – One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
THEME OF THE DAY: JESUS: FIRST PLACE, PRIORITY PLACE. Without time to think about this, all you can do is give me the first thing which comes into your mind, what would be your answer to this question – “If you were given two hours to do whatever you wanted with no restrictions whatsoever, how would you spend the time?” There would be no hindrances at all; no cost or limitations. You get to do exactly what you want, with whom you want, and not a single person or force is able to stop you; what would be your choice? And you only get one choice.
Take a look at today’s scripture and see what would be the answer from David, a man whom God called “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). David would choose time alone with God to seek Him, experience Him, and commune with Him. And David is not alone. Another Psalmist named Asaph proclaimed, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). If one gave these two godly men unhindered and uninterrupted time in their lives to be spent on their hearts’ desire, they would choose time alone with God. Would we? Would we be able to immediately respond without hesitation like them? It is a good question for us to consider because how we answer it reveals where are heart truly is fixed – heaven and Christ or earth and self. Remember these words of Jesus, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19- 21). And our “treasure” will be revealed by two things – what or who has the priority place in our affections and what or who gets the best investment of our time.
If someone followed us around for an entire week – from one Lord’s Day through the second Lord’s Day – observing the choices we made with the use of our time and the spiritual place the Lord’s Day was in our lives, would they walk away from us able to say the theme of today’s nugget characterizes our lives – “Jesus: First place, Priority Place”? One of the great Puritan pastors named Richard Sibbes said, “Christ will not have us to divide our affections: partly for the world, or partly to pleasures, and partly to Him. He will not have it so. He will have whole heart and whole affections, or He will have neither heart or affections.” Ponder these piercing words. Jesus doesn’t share His life with His people. He is the life of His people. He owns us by creation. He bought us by salvation. He has become the rightful Master of our lives and He has made it clear, “No man can serve two Masters.” Is He demanding of us when it comes to total consecration and surrender? Absolutely. And His demand is unwavering and uncompromising. He makes “no deals” with us when it comes to who is Lord of all in our lives. Yet, this demand is not a burden but a delight. It satisfies the soul as nothing else under the sun can. It gives life joyful purpose. It enables us to fulfill our purpose – “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
Okay, we may not have two hours of unrestricted time to choose what we would like to do, but each of us has time. And each of us chooses what to do with that time. Let’s make sure our first response and heart inclination is to dive into the Word and prayer to know the Lord. Let’s ensure a good portion of our free time is governed by “Jesus: First Place, Priority Place.” Our joy in Him depends upon this choice.
PRAYER: “Lord, make me to see and to experience that my only source of soul satisfaction is You.”
QUOTE: “The world can never deliver true heart contentment. It was not created to do so.”